Wireless communication system, wireless communication method, wireless communication device, and program

ABSTRACT

According to an aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of data transfer applications each transmit a communication right acquisition request in a second device that is an information terminal, a first device that is a sensing device determines permission or rejection of communication for each application of a request source based on application-specific identification information included in the communication right acquisition request and an arbitration condition stored in advance and returns a response including its determination result and the application-specific identification information to the second device. On the other hand, the second device determines success or failure of acquisition of a communication right for each application based on the determination result of the permission or rejection of communication included in the response and executes transfer processing of transmission target data by an application having succeeded in acquiring the communication right.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the U.S. national stage application filed pursuantto 35 U.S.C. 365(c) and 120 as a continuation of International PatentApplication No. PCT/JP2022/003730, filed Feb. 1, 2022, which applicationclaims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-025101, filedFeb. 19, 2021, which applications are incorporated herein by referencein their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system fortransmitting data between a plurality of wireless communication devices,and a wireless communication method, a wireless communication device,and a program that are used in the system.

BACKGROUND ART

Examples of a known scheme for transferring sensing data measured by asensing device such as a blood pressure monitor to a management devicesuch as a server device include a scheme for transmitting sensing datafrom a sensing device to an information terminal such as a smart phoneby using a near-field wireless communication technology such asBluetooth (trade name), and transferring, by the information terminal,the sensing data to a management device such as a server via a mobilecommunication network (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

For example, an operating system (OS) of the information terminaltransmits a communication right acquisition request generated by a datatransfer application included in the information terminal to the sensingdevice, the OS receives a response returned from the sensing device andnotifies the data transfer application of the response, and then thedata transfer application executes receiving processing of the sensingdata from the sensing device, so that this type of data transfer schemeis achieved.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   Patent Document 1: JP 2017-123144 A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

However, the related-art data transfer scheme has the following problem.That is, various services for performing health management of users haverecently appeared, and cases have been increasing in which a userselects a desired service, transmits his/her own sensing data to amanagement server of the desired service, and requests healthmanagement. When using this service, the user installs a data transferapplication provided by the service to be used in his/her owninformation terminal to enable transfer of the sensing data.

However, for example, when a plurality of data transfer applications areinstalled in the information terminal as in a case where the userselects a plurality of services, the following problem may occur. Thatis, when communication right acquisition requests are generated from theplurality of data transfer applications in the same period, thesecommunication right acquisition requests are transmitted from the OS ofthe information terminal to a sensing device as they are, and respectiveresponses returned from the sensing device are received by the OS of theinformation terminal and notified to the data transfer applications ofrequest sources as they are. At this time, each data transferapplication cannot determine whether the notified response is a responseaddressed to the data transfer application itself and thus attempts toexecute processing for receiving the sensing data. Accordingly,communication conflict occurs in the sensing device. Thus, unintendeddata access may be executed on the sensing device, which may cause datacorruption or the like.

The present invention is to provide a technology for suppressingcommunication conflict when a plurality of data transfer applicationsare installed in an information terminal.

Solution to Problem

A first aspect according to the present invention for solving the aboveproblem relates to a wireless communication system including a firstdevice that generates transmission target data and a second deviceincluding a plurality of applications, each of the plurality ofapplications performing data transfer processing, the second deviceperforming transfer processing of the transmission target data with thefirst device under control of the plurality of applications. The firstdevice includes a communication arbitration processing unit and aresponse processing unit. The second device includes a requesttransmission processing unit, a success/failure determination processingunit, and a data transfer processing unit.

The request transmission processing unit generates and transmits acommunication right acquisition request including unique identificationinformation of each of the plurality of applications when thecorresponding one of the plurality of applications makes a request tothe first device for communication. The communication arbitrationprocessing unit determines, when a plurality of the communication rightacquisition requests are received from the second device, permission orrejection of communication for each of the plurality of applicationsthat are request sources based on the unique identification informationincluded in the corresponding one of the plurality of the communicationright acquisition requests and an arbitration condition set in advance.The response processing unit generates a response including informationindicating a determination result of the permission or rejection and theunique identification information corresponding to the information andreturns the response to the second device. The success/failuredetermination processing unit determines success or failure ofacquisition of a communication right for each of the plurality ofapplications based on the information indicating the determinationresult of the permission or rejection and the unique identificationinformation corresponding to the information that are included in theresponse returned from the first device. The data transfer processingunit executes the transfer processing of the transmission target data byan application having succeeded in acquiring the communication rightamong the plurality of applications based on a determination result ofthe success or failure.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when theplurality of applications transmit the communication right acquisitionrequests in the second device, the first device determines permission orrejection of communication for each application that is the requestsource based on the application-specific identification informationincluded in the corresponding one of the communication right acquisitionrequests and the arbitration condition and returns the responseincluding the determination result and the application-specificidentification information to the second device. On the other hand, thesecond device determines success or failure of acquisition of thecommunication right for each application based on the determinationresult of the permission or rejection of communication included in theresponse and executes the transfer processing of the transmission targetdata by an application having succeeded in acquiring the communicationright.

Thus, for example, even when the plurality of applications transmit thecommunication right acquisition requests in the same period in thesecond device, the first device determines, based on the arbitrationcondition, permission or rejection of communication for each applicationthat has transmitted the communication right acquisition request andreturns the determination result. Thus, among the applications that arethe request sources, only an application permitted to performcommunication performs the transfer processing of the transmissiontarget data in accordance with the contents of the response, therebyavoiding communication conflict in the first device. Thus, there is noconcern that unintended data access is performed on the first device tocause data corruption or the like, which can enhance the reliability ofthe system.

A second aspect of the present invention relates to a wirelesscommunication device used as a first device in a wireless communicationsystem, the wireless communication system including the first device anda second device, the first device generating transmission target data,the second device including a plurality of applications, each of theplurality of applications performing data transfer processing, thesecond device performing transfer processing of the transmission targetdata with the first device under control of the plurality ofapplications. The wireless communication device includes a communicationarbitration processing unit and a response processing unit. Thecommunication arbitration processing unit determines, when a pluralityof communication right acquisition requests are received from the seconddevice, permission or rejection of communication for each of theplurality of applications that are request sources based on uniqueidentification information of each of the plurality of applicationsincluded in the corresponding one of the plurality of communicationright acquisition requests and an arbitration condition set in advance.The response processing unit generates a response including informationindicating a determination result of the permission or rejection and theunique identification information corresponding to the information andreturns the response to the second device.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even when theplurality of applications of the second device transmit thecommunication right acquisition requests in the same period, the firstdevice performs the arbitration processing on the plurality ofcommunication right acquisition requests, and each application of therequest source is notified of the result. Thus, in the second device,only an application permitted to perform communication executes thetransfer processing of the transmission target data. Accordingly,communication conflict in the first device is avoided, and thus there isno concern about data corruption or the like due to unintended dataaccess, and the first device can perform the data transfer processingwith high stability.

In a third aspect of the present invention, the communicationarbitration processing unit defines a first-come-first-served basis asthe arbitration condition, and when the plurality of communication rightacquisition requests are received from the second device, thecommunication arbitration processing unit permits communication for anapplication corresponding to a communication right acquisition requestthat is received earliest.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when thecommunication right acquisition request is transmitted from each of theplurality of applications of the second device in the same period,communication for each application is permitted on thefirst-come-first-served basis. Thus, when the plurality of applicationsare installed in the second device, it is possible to fairly grantcommunication rights to these applications.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, the communicationarbitration processing unit defines priorities for the plurality ofapplications as the arbitration condition, and when the plurality ofcommunication right acquisition requests are received from the seconddevice, the communication arbitration processing unit permitscommunication for an application having a highest one of the priorities.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when thecommunication right acquisition request is transmitted from each of theplurality of applications of the second device in the same period,communication for an application whose priority is set high ispreferentially permitted. Thus, for example, the data transfer by anapplication having a high priority designated by the user can bepreferentially performed.

In a fifth aspect of the device according to the present invention, thefirst device further includes a display processing unit, and the displayprocessing unit generates display information for displaying thedetermination result of the permission or rejection and causes thedisplay unit to display the display information.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, for example, theuser can confirm which application of the second device performs thedata transfer in the first device.

A sixth aspect of a device according to the present invention relates toa wireless communication device used as a second device in a wirelesscommunication system, the wireless communication system including afirst device and the second device, the first device generatingtransmission target data, the second device including a plurality ofapplications, each of the plurality of applications configured toperform data transfer processing, the second device performing transferprocessing of the transmission target data with the first device undercontrol of the plurality of applications, the first device including afunction to determine, when a plurality of communication rightacquisition requests are received from the second device, permission orrejection of communication for each of the plurality of applicationsthat are request sources based on unique identification information ofeach of the plurality of applications included in the corresponding oneof the plurality of communication right acquisition requests and anarbitration condition set in advance, generate a response includinginformation indicating a determination result of the permission orrejection and the unique identification information corresponding to theinformation, and return the response to the second device. The wirelesscommunication device includes a success/failure determination processingunit and a data transfer processing unit. The success/failuredetermination processing unit determines success or failure ofacquisition of a communication right for each of the plurality ofapplications based on the information indicating the determinationresult of the permission or rejection and the unique identificationinformation corresponding to the information that are included in theresponse returned from the first device in response to transmission ofthe corresponding one of the plurality of communication rightacquisition requests. The data transfer processing unit executes thetransfer processing of the transmission target data by an applicationhaving succeeded in acquiring the communication right among theplurality of applications based on a determination result of the successor failure.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, each applicationof the second device determines success or failure of acquisition of thecommunication right based on the contents of the response returned fromthe first device in response to the communication right acquisitionrequest, and the data transfer processing is executed by only anapplication having succeeded in acquiring the communication right.Accordingly, communication conflict in the first device is avoided, andthus there is no concern about data corruption or the like, whichenables the data transfer processing with high stability.

In a seventh aspect of the present invention, the second device furtherincludes a display processing unit, and the display processing unitgenerates display information indicating the determination result of thesuccess or failure and causes the display unit to display the displayinformation.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the user canconfirm which application of the plurality of applications is selectedin the second device.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide atechnology for suppressing communication conflict when a plurality ofdata transfer applications are installed in an information terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Various embodiments are disclosed, by way of example only, withreference to the accompanying schematic drawings in which correspondingreference symbols indicate corresponding parts, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a wirelesscommunication system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of asensing device used as a first device in the system illustrated in FIG.1 ;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of thesensing device used as the first device in the system illustrated inFIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of aninformation terminal used as a second device in the system illustratedin FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of theinformation terminal used as the second device in the system illustratedin FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure and processingdetails of sensing data transmission processing executed by a controllerof the sensing device illustrated in FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure and processingdetails of arbitration processing of the processing procedureillustrated in FIG. 6 ;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure and processingdetails of sensing data reception processing executed by a controller ofthe information terminal illustrated in FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 9A is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure of a first halfof data transfer processing executed between the sensing device and theinformation terminal illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 , respectively;and,

FIG. 9B is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure of a latter halfof the data transfer processing executed between the sensing device andthe information terminal illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 ,respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Now, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the presentinvention is described.

Embodiment; Configuration Example (1); System

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a wirelesscommunication system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

The wireless communication system according to an embodiment includes asensing device SD functioning as a first device and an informationterminal UT functioning as a second device. Then, sensing data measuredby the sensing device SD is transferred to the information terminal UTthrough, for example, Bluetooth (trade name), which is one of thenear-field wireless communication technologies. The information terminalUT transfers the sensing data to a server device SV via a network NW.

In this example, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) defined by version 4.0 ofBluetooth is used as a wireless communication scheme between the sensingdevice SD and the information terminal UT. Use of BLE can further reducepower consumption as compared with the previous specification, and inparticular, use of one way communication called BLE advertising can beexpected to achieve further power consumption reduction.

The network NW includes, for example, the Internet and an access networkfor accessing the Internet. Examples of the access network include amobile wireless communication network adopting the 4G or 5G standard anda wireless local area network (LAN), but the access network is notlimited thereto.

The server device SV includes a cloud computer or a web computeroperated by, for example, a medical health organization or a healthinformation service provider and collects sensing data of users toperform health management of the users. Although FIG. 1 illustrates onlyone server device SV for the sake of simplicity, when there are aplurality of service providers performing health management of theusers, there are a plurality of server devices operated by therespective service providers.

(2) Device; (2-1) Sensing Device SD

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are block diagrams illustrating a hardwareconfiguration and a software configuration of the sensing device SD,respectively.

The sensing device SD is constituted by, for example, a blood pressuremonitor and includes a control unit 1, a sensing unit 2, a BLEcommunication module 3, an input unit 4 a, and a display unit 4 b.

The sensing unit 2 performs a measurement operation of sensing dataincluding, for example, blood pressure data under control of the controlunit 1 and outputs the measured sensing data to the control unit 1. Thesensing unit 2 may be a device that measures, in addition to the bloodpressure data, other vital data related to a pulse rate, anelectrocardiographic waveform, a blood sugar level, an amount ofactivity, a stress level, and the like alone or in combination.

The BLE communication module 3 transmits and receives a wireless controlsignal and data to and from the information terminal UT in accordancewith a communication protocol defined by the BLE standard. The BLEcommunication module 3 is not limited to one incorporated in the sensingdevice SD and may be one externally provided as an attachmentcommunication adapter or a communication module included in an IoTdevice, a router, or a set top box (STB), which is independently used.

The control unit 1 includes a controller 11 including a hardwareprocessor such as a central processing unit (CPU). The controller 11 mayinclude a digital signal processor (DSP) for performing encryptionprocessing and the like.

A storage unit including a program storage 12 and a data storage 13, asensor interface (hereinafter an interface is referred to as an “I/F”)14, a communication I/F and an input/output I/F 16 are connected to thecontroller 11 via a bus 17.

Under control of the controller 11, the sensor I/F 14 performsprocessing of transmitting and receiving various control signals relatedto operations of the sensing unit 2, receiving sensing data output fromthe sensing unit 2, and passing the sensing data to the controller 11.Under control of the controller 11, the communication I/F 15 transmitsand receives various control signals related to operations of the BLEcommunication module 3 and performs processing of outputting a packetgenerated by the controller 11 to the BLE communication module 3.

The program storage 12 is configured by combining, for example, anon-volatile memory on which writing and reading can be performed asneeded such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD) anda non-volatile memory such as a read only memory (ROM) as a storagemedium and stores programs used for executing various kinds of controlprocessing according to an embodiment, in addition to middleware such asan operating system (OS).

The data storage 13 is a combination of, for example, a non-volatilememory on which writing and reading can be performed as needed such asan SSD and a volatile memory such as a random access memory (RAM) as astorage medium and includes a sensing data storage 131 and anarbitration information storage 132 as main storages used forimplementing an embodiment.

The sensing data storage 131 is used to store sensing data measured bythe sensing unit 2 in association with information indicating itsmeasurement date and time of the sensing data or the like.

The arbitration information storage 132 stores an arbitration conditionfor performing arbitration of communication for a plurality ofcommunication right acquisition requests when these requests aretransmitted from the information terminal UT in a process of connectinga BLE wireless link. In this example, a “first-come-first-served basis”or a “priority” is defined as the arbitration condition, but thearbitration condition is not limited thereto. The arbitrationinformation storage 132 also stores information indicating arbitrationresults of the plurality of communication right acquisition requests.

The data storage 13 also includes a storage area for temporarily storingdata generated in processes of various types of processing of thecontroller 11.

The controller 11 includes a sensing controller 111, a BLE communicationcontroller 112, a communication arbitration processing unit 113, and asensing data transmission processing unit 114 as main functions used forimplementing an embodiment. Each of these controllers and processingunits 111 to 114 is implemented by causing the hardware processor of thecontroller 11 to execute a program stored in the program storage 12.

The sensing controller 111 activates the sensing unit 2 via the sensorI/F 14 when the input unit 4 a is subjected to an operation serving as atrigger for a measurement operation of vital data including bloodpressure data. Then, processing is performed in which sensing datameasured by the sensing unit 2 is acquired via the sensor I/F 14, andthe acquired sensing data is stored in the sensing data storage 131 inassociation with information indicating a measurement date and time.

The BLE communication controller 112 executes advertising and aconnection sequence of BLE with the information terminal UT inaccordance with a communication protocol defined in the BLEcommunication scheme to execute a series of processing operations ofestablishing a BLE wireless link with the information terminal UT.

When a plurality of communication right acquisition requests by aplurality of data transfer applications described below are transmittedfrom the information terminal UT in a process of the above BLEadvertising, the communication arbitration processing unit 113 performs,based on the arbitration condition stored in the arbitration informationstorage 132, arbitration of communication for the respectiveapplications that have transmitted the plurality of communication rightacquisition requests. Then, the communication arbitration processingunit 113 performs processing of generating response informationincluding information indicating an arbitration result and uniqueidentification information (hereinafter referred to as an applicationID) of the data transfer application that is the request source includedin each communication right acquisition request and causing the BLEcommunication controller 112 to return the generated responseinformation. In addition, the communication arbitration processing unit113 causes the arbitration information storage 132 to store theinformation indicating the arbitration result.

In a state where the BLE wireless link to the information terminal UT isestablished by the BLE communication controller 112, the sensing datatransmission processing unit 114 performs processing of readinguntransmitted sensing data from the sensing data storage 131, outputtingthe sensing data to the BLE communication module 3 via the communicationOF 15, and causing the BLE communication module 3 to transmit thesensing data.

(2-2) Information Terminal UT

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are block diagrams illustrating a hardwareconfiguration and a software configuration of the information terminalUT, respectively.

The information terminal UT is, for example, a smart phone owned by theuser. As the information terminal UT, a tablet terminal, a wearableterminal, a laptop personal computer, or the like may be also used aslong as it is owned by the user.

The information terminal UT includes a control unit 5, a BLEcommunication module 6, a mobile wireless communication module 7, and aninput/output device 8.

The BLE communication module 6 transmits and receives a wireless controlsignal and data to and from the sensing device SD in accordance with acommunication protocol defined by the BLE standard.

The mobile wireless communication module 7 transmits and receives datato and from the server device SV via the network NW by using a wirelessaccess scheme and a communication protocol defined in a mobilecommunication network. Examples of the wireless access scheme usedinclude Long Term Evolution (LTE) (trade name), 4G, or 5G.

The input/output device 8 is configured by disposing a touch-type inputsheet adopting a pressure sensitive type or an electrostatic capacitivetype on a display screen of a display device made of liquid crystal ororganic EL and is used to receive various types of operation data anddisplay data.

The control unit 5 includes a controller 51 including a hardwareprocessor such as a central processing unit. A storage unit including aprogram storage 52 and a data storage 53, communication I/Fs 54 and 55,and an input/output OF 56 are connected to the controller 51 via a bus57.

The communication OF 54 performs processing such as relay or conversionof various signals transmitted and received between the controller 51and the BLE communication module 6 in a process of establishing a BLEwireless link with the sensing device SD.

The input/output OF 56 receives operation data input to the input/outputdevice 8, passes the data to the controller 51, outputs various types ofdisplay information output from the controller 51 to the input/outputdevice 8, and causes the input/output device 8 to display theinformation.

The program storage 52 is configured by combining, for example, anon-volatile memory on which writing and reading can be performed asneeded such as an SSD and a non-volatile memory such as a ROM as astorage medium and stores programs used for executing various kinds ofcontrol processing according to an embodiment, in addition to middlewaresuch as an OS.

The program includes a plurality of data transfer applications providedby a plurality of providers (which may include a manufacturer of thesensing device SD or the like) that provide health management services.In this example, it is assumed that two data transfer applications(hereinafter referred to as an application A and an application B) areinstalled.

The data storage 53 is a combination of, for example, a non-volatilememory on which writing and reading can be performed as needed such asan SSD and a volatile memory such as a RAM as a storage medium andincludes a sensing data storage 531 as a main storage used forimplementing an embodiment. The sensing data storage 531 is used tostore sensing data transmitted from the sensing device SD. The sensingdata storage 531 may be provided for each of the application A and theapplication B. The data storage 53 also includes a storage area fortemporarily storing data generated in processes of various types ofprocessing of the controller 51.

The controller 51 includes a platform 511, a first data transferprocessing unit 512, and a second data transfer processing unit 513.Each of these processing units 511 to 513 is implemented by causing thehardware processor of the controller 51 to execute an OS and anapplication program stored in the program storage 52.

The platform 511 is executed by the OS and executes, in accordance witha communication protocol defined by the BLE communication scheme,scanning for the sensing device SD, receiving a BLE advertisement fromthe sensing device SD, and transmission and reception processing ofvarious requests and responses related to a BLE connection sequence toperform a series of processing operations until a BLE wireless link isestablished with the sensing device SD.

The first data transfer processing unit 512 operates by executing theapplication A and performs a series of data transfer processingoperations for acquiring sensing data from the sensing device SD.

For example, the first data transfer processing unit 512 causes theplatform 511 to execute scanning, receive an advertisement, transmit aconnection request, execute a connection sequence, transmit acommunication right acquisition request, and receive responseinformation to the request. At this time, the application ID of theapplication A is inserted into the connection request.

Next, the first data transfer processing unit 512 determines success orfailure of communication right acquisition for the application A basedon an arbitration result and the application ID included in the receivedresponse information. If the communication right acquisition hassucceeded, the first data transfer processing unit 512 receives thesensing data via the wireless link established with respect to thesensing device SD and causes the sensing data storage 531 to store thereceived sensing data.

The first data transfer processing unit 512 also monitors a transfertiming of the stored sensing data to the server device SV, reads, whenthe transfer timing arrives, untransmitted sensing data from the sensingdata storage 531, and outputs the read sensing data to the mobilewireless communication module 7 via the communication OF 55. Then, thefirst data transfer processing unit 512 causes the mobile wirelesscommunication module 7 to transmit the sensing data to the server deviceSV via the network NW in accordance with a communication protocoldefined in the mobile communication network.

The second data transfer processing unit 513 operates by executing theapplication B and performs a series of data transfer processingoperations for acquiring sensing data from the sensing device SD.

The processing procedure and the processing details thereof are the sameas those of the processing of the first data transfer processing unit512 executing the application A.

Operation Example

Next, an example of an operation of the wireless communication systemconfigured as described above will be described.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are flowcharts illustrating processing procedures andprocessing details by the controller 11 of the sensing device SD, andFIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure and processingdetails by the controller 51 of the information terminal UT. FIG. 9A andFIG. 9B are sequence diagrams illustrating an operation procedure of thedata transfer processing between the sensing device SD and theinformation terminal UT.

(1) Activation of Data Transfer Application in Information Terminal UT

In step S30 illustrated in FIG. 8 , the controller 51 of the informationterminal UT monitors activation of each application. In this state, forexample, when the user performs activation operations of the applicationA and the application B with the input/output device 8 or whenactivation requests of the applications A and B are received from theserver device SV of the service provider, the controller 51 of theinformation terminal UT activates the applications A and B.

Thereafter, the applications A and B operate in the background withrespect to other various applications installed in the informationterminal UT.

When each of the data transfer processing units 512 and 513 executingthe applications A and B, respectively, is activated, a scan request isfirst given to the platform 511 in step S31. As a result, thereafter,the platform 511 starts an operation of intermittently scanning a BLEadvertisement for the sensing device SD. At this time, the platform 511receives the scan requests from both the applications A and B butexecutes a scan operation in response to a scan request received earlieras illustrated in FIG. 9A.

(2) Sensing Operation in Sensing Device SD

It is assumed that the user, who is a subject, performs an operation forsensing with the sensing device SD. The operation at this time may be,for example, pressing of a measurement button provided at the input unit4 a but may also be an operation in which the user wears a cuff at atarget measurement site such as an arm or a wrist.

If detecting the operation in step S10, the controller 11 of the sensingdevice SD activates the sensing unit 2 in step S11 under control of thesensing controller 111. Then, the controller 11 acquires sensing datameasured and output by the sensing unit 2 via the sensor I/F 14 in stepS12 and causes the sensing data storage 131 to store the acquiredsensing data after information indicating a measurement date and time isadded thereto. When the above one sensing operation ends, the sensingcontroller 111 determines whether the sensing operation has ended instep S13. If the subject presses the measurement button again, theprocessing returns to step S11, and the sensing operation repeats.

In this example, data indicating a systolic blood pressure, a diastolicblood pressure, and a pulse rate is acquired as the sensing data.However, the sensing data may include other vital data related to apulse rate, an electrocardiographic waveform, a blood sugar level, anamount of activity, a stress level, and the like alone or incombination.

(3) Transfer of Sensing Data; (3-1) Execution of Advertising andConnection Sequence of BLE

If determining that the sensing operation has ended in step S13described above, the controller 11 of the sensing device SD startstransmission of a BLE advertisement intermittently at, for example,fixed time intervals in step S14 under control of the BLE communicationcontroller 112.

On the other hand, if the controller 51 of the information terminal UTreceives the BLE advertisement by the platform 511 in step S32, each ofthe first data transfer processing unit 512 and the second data transferprocessing unit 513 generates a connection request and outputs theconnection request to the platform 511 in step S33.

The platform 511 outputs the connection request to the BLE communicationmodule 6 via the communication OF 54. As a result, the connectionrequest is transmitted from the BLE communication module 6 to thesensing device SD. At this time, when the connection request isgenerated from each of the first data transfer processing unit 512 andthe second data transfer processing unit 513, the platform 511 transmitsonly a connection request generated earlier to the sensing device SD.

If receiving the connection request from the information terminal UT instep S15 during the transmission period of the advertisement, thecontroller 11 of the sensing device SD executes a BLE connectionsequence in step S16 under control of the BLE communication controller112.

At this time, the platform 511 of the information terminal UT alsoexecutes a BLE connection sequence with the sensing device SD in stepS34 after transmitting the connection request. Then, when connected tothe sensing device SD through the BLE connection sequence, the platform511 notifies the first data transfer processing unit 512 and the seconddata transfer processing unit 513, which are transmission sources of theconnection requests, of connection completion.

(3-2) Transmission of Communication Right Acquisition Request

If the connection completion notifications are received in step S35, thefirst data transfer processing unit 512 and the second data transferprocessing unit 513 generate communication right acquisition requests instep S36. At this time, the application IDs of the applications A and Bthat are the request sources are inserted into the respectivecommunication right acquisition requests.

Then, the first data transfer processing unit 512 and the second datatransfer processing unit 513 pass the generated communication rightacquisition requests to the platform 511. The platform 511 transmitseach communication right acquisition request from the BLE communicationmodule 6 to the sensing device SD.

(3-3) Communication Arbitration Processing

On the other hand, when the controller 11 of the sensing device SDreceives each communication right acquisition request in step S17, theprocessing proceeds to step S18. Then, under control of thecommunication arbitration processing unit 113, the controller 11executes the arbitration processing of communication for thecommunication right acquisition requests as follows.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure and processingdetails of the arbitration processing of this communication. That is, instep S181, the communication arbitration processing unit 113 firstdetermines whether the number of communication right acquisitionrequests transmitted from the information terminal UT within a fixedtime (for example, one second or less) is one or plural. If the numberis one as a result of this determination, the communication arbitrationprocessing unit 113 unconditionally permits communication for thisrequest. Then, in step S182, the communication arbitration processingunit 113 generates response information including information indicatingthat the communication is permitted and the application ID included inthe received communication right acquisition request and causes the BLEcommunication module 3 to transmit the generated response information tothe information terminal UT in step S186.

On the other hand, it is assumed that two communication rightacquisition requests are received from the information terminal UTwithin the fixed time as described above. In this case, thecommunication arbitration processing unit 113 reads the arbitrationcondition from the arbitration information storage 132. Then, thecommunication arbitration processing unit 113 determines permission orrejection of communication for each of the two communication rightacquisition requests based on the read arbitration condition.

For example, two methods of a “first-come-first-served basis” and a“priority order” can be considered as a method of determining permissionor rejection of communication. These are defined by the arbitrationcondition.

First, in the case of the “first-come-first-served basis”, communicationfor a communication right acquisition request received earlier ispermitted, and communication for a communication right acquisitionrequest received later is rejected. In this case, the communicationarbitration processing unit 113 selects the communication rightacquisition request received earlier in step S183 as illustrated in FIG.7 and generates, for the selected communication right acquisitionrequest, response information in which flag information indicatingpermission (OK) of communication and an application ID are inserted instep S184. On the other hand, for the communication right acquisitionrequest received later, the communication arbitration processing unit113 generates response information in which flag information indicatingrejection (not OK) of communication and the application ID are insertedare generated in step S185. Then, the communication arbitrationprocessing unit 113 transmits each generated response information fromthe BLE communication module 3 to the information terminal UT in stepS186.

On the other hand, in the case of the “priority order”, for example,determination is made in accordance with priorities that the user setsin advance on the applications A and B in the information terminal UT.Communication for a communication right acquisition requestcorresponding to an application having a higher priority is permitted,and communication for a communication right acquisition requestcorresponding to an application having a lower priority is temporarilyrejected. Whether the transmission source of the communication rightacquisition request is the application A or the application B isdetermined based on the application ID included in the communicationright acquisition request.

In this case as well, the communication arbitration processing unit 113generates response information including flag information indicating adetermination result of the above permission or rejection, that is,permission (OK) or rejection (not OK), and the application ID of theapplication that is the request source for each communication rightacquisition request and transmits the generated response informationfrom the BLE communication module 3 to the information terminal UT.

When receiving the respective pieces of response information transmittedfrom the sensing device SD via the BLE communication module 6, theplatform 511 of the information terminal UT passes the respective piecesof received response information to the first data transfer processingunit 512 and the second data transfer processing unit 513. In this case,the platform 511 does not have a function of identifying thedestinations of the respective pieces of response information and thusnotifies both the first data transfer processing unit 512 and the seconddata transfer processing unit 513 of the respective pieces of receivedresponse information.

When receiving the respective pieces of response information, each ofthe first data transfer processing unit 512 and the second data transferprocessing unit 513 of the information terminal UT determines whichresponse information is addressed to its own application based on theapplication IDs included in the respective pieces of responseinformation in step S38. Then, each of the first data transferprocessing unit 512 and the second data transfer processing unit 513determines success or failure of the communication right acquisitionbased on the flag information included in the response informationaddressed to its own application. Thereafter, the reception operation ofthe sensing data is executed by the first data transfer processing unit512 or the second data transfer processing unit 513 that has succeededin acquiring the communication right.

(3-4) Transfer of Sensing Data

When the arbitration processing ends, the controller 11 of the sensingdevice SD reads the sensing data from the sensing data storage 131 instep S19 under control of the sensing data transmission processing unit114. Then, the controller 11 transfers the read sensing data from theBLE communication module 3 to the information terminal UT via thewireless link established with the information terminal UT.

On the other hand, a data transfer processing unit among the first andsecond data transfer processing units 512 and 513 of the informationterminal UT that has succeeded in acquiring the communication right, forexample, the first data transfer processing unit 512 corresponding tothe application A receives the sensing data from the sensing device SDvia the BLE wireless link established with the sensing device SD andcauses the sensing data storage 531 to store the received sensing data.If completion of the sensing data reception has been detected in stepS40, the first data transfer processing unit 512 transmits adisconnection request to the sensing device SD in step S41 and ends theprocessing.

(3-5) Case where there is Application on Standby for Communication

The controller 11 of the sensing device SD stores the informationindicating the determination result of permission or rejection ofcommunication by the communication arbitration processing unit 113, forexample, the communication right acquisition request the communicationof which has been rejected in the arbitration information storage 132 asthe communication standby information. If receiving the disconnectionrequest transmitted from the information terminal UT in step S20 aftertransmission of the sensing data, the BLE communication controller 112then determines, based on the communication standby information storedin the arbitration information storage 132, whether there is acommunication right acquisition request on standby in step S21. Then, ifthere is the communication right acquisition request on standby, theprocessing returns to step S14, and the processing is executed againfrom step S14 to step S20.

On the other hand, when the first data transfer processing unit 512transmits the disconnection request and ends the data transferprocessing in step S41, the controller 51 of the information terminal UTsubsequently determines in step S42 whether there is a data transferapplication on standby. As a result of this determination, when there isthe data transfer application on standby, the controller 51 of theinformation terminal UT returns the processing to step S31 and executesthe processing from step S31 to step S41 again.

For example, in the example described above, because the application Bis on standby for communication, processing of receiving the sensingdata from the sensing device SD is executed under control of the seconddata transfer processing unit 513 in steps S31 to S41 described above.FIG. 9B illustrates the processing sequence.

Actions and Effects

As described above, in an embodiment, when the sensing data istransferred from the sensing device SD to the information terminal UTunder control of each of the two data transfer applications A and Binstalled in the information terminal UT, the applications A and Btransmit the communication right acquisition requests including theirrespective application IDs to the sensing device SD. On the other hand,when the sensing device SD receives the communication right acquisitionrequest by each of the applications A and B from the informationterminal UT, the sensing device SD determines permission or rejection ofcommunication for each of the applications A and B based on thearbitration condition stored in advance. Then, the sensing device SDgenerates the response information including the information indicatingthe determination result and the application ID included in thecommunication right acquisition request and returns the responseinformation to the information terminal UT. Each of the applications Aand B of the information terminal UT determines success or failure ofacquisition of a communication right based on the received responseinformation, and the application A or B that has succeeded in acquiringthe communication right performs processing of receiving the sensingdata from the sensing device SD.

Thus, for example, even when the applications A and B of the informationterminal UT transmit the communication right acquisition requests in thesame period, the sensing device SD performs the arbitration processingfor each communication right acquisition request, and the informationterminal UT is notified of the result through the response information.For this reason, only one of the applications A and B of the requestsources that has succeeded in acquiring the communication right performsthe transfer processing of the sensing data, and the communicationconflict in the sensing device SD is avoided. Thus, there is no concernthat unintended data access is performed on the sensing device SD tocause data corruption or the like. And this can improve reliability ofthe data transfer processing.

In an embodiment, the first-come-first-served basis is defined as thearbitration condition, and communication is permitted for thecommunication right acquisition request received earliest. Thus, it ispossible to fairly grant the respective communication rights to theapplications A and B installed in the information terminal UT.

On the other hand, priorities may be defined for the applications A andB as the arbitration condition. In this case, for example, data transferby an application having a high priority designated by the user can bepreferentially performed.

Furthermore, in an embodiment, the sensing device SD stores, as thearbitration information which is information indicating the arbitrationresult, the communication right acquisition request from the applicationB the communication of which has been rejected, and the informationterminal UT stores information indicating the determination result ofsuccess or failure of the communication right acquisition. Then, afterthe end of the data transfer by the application A the communication ofwhich has been permitted, the BLE advertising and the connectionsequence are continuously performed based on the respective pieces ofstored information, and the data transfer processing by the applicationB is further executed. Thus, after the end of the data transferprocessing by the application A, the data transfer processing by theapplication B is automatically executed, and the data transferprocessing by all the running applications can be completed.

Modified Examples

The sensing device SD may generate display information indicating thearbitration result of each communication right acquisition request anddisplay the information on the display unit 4 b. Furthermore, theinformation terminal UT may generate display information indicatingsuccess or failure of communication right acquisition and display theinformation on the display unit of the input/output device 8. In thisway, the user can confirm the application during the sensing datatransfer processing in both the sensing device SD and the informationterminal UT.

The example above describes a case where the information terminal UTtransmits a disconnection request when one of the applications A and Bhas ended data transfer. However, as another example, it is possible forthe information terminal UT to cause an application on standby toperform the communication processing without transmitting thedisconnection request by the following communication processing.

That is, for example, it is assumed that the applications A and Btransmit respective communication right acquisition requests and thatthe sensing device SD returns a communication right acquisition response(OK) to the application A and a communication right acquisition response(not OK) to the application B. In this case, in the information terminalUT, the application A executes data transfer, and the application Benters a standby state. When the application A completes the datatransfer, the information terminal UT transmits a communication rightrelease request. At this time, the ID of the application A is insertedinto the communication right release request.

On the other hand, when receiving the communication right releaserequest in which the ID of the application A is inserted, the sensingdevice SD returns a communication right release response including theID of the application A. When confirming that the application A hasreleased the communication right based on the communication rightrelease response including the ID of the application A, the informationterminal UT transmits a communication right acquisition request to thesensing device SD again. Through such a processing procedure, both theapplications A and B can also complete the respective data transfers.

Other Embodiments

In an embodiment, although an example has been described in which ablood pressure monitor is used as the first device, the first device maybe a device that measures vital data other than blood pressure data.Moreover, the first device may be a device that measures environmentaldata such as a temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure inaddition to the vital data or may be a device that measures a substancerelated to air pollution such as exhaust gas, water quality, vibration,noise, or the like.

In addition, the number of the data transfer applications, the types andconfigurations of the first device and the second device, the processingprocedure and processing details, the type and data structure of thetransmission target data, and the like can be variously modified withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

While the embodiment of the present invention has been described indetail above, the foregoing description is a mere example of the presentinvention in all respects. It goes without saying that variousmodifications and variations can be made without departing from thescope of the present invention. Thus, specific configurations inaccordance with an embodiment may be adopted as appropriate at the timeof carrying out the present invention.

In short, the present invention is not limited to the embodimentsdescribed above and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elementin an implementation stage in a range without departing from the gistthereof. Additionally, various inventions can be formed by appropriatelycombining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in theembodiments described above. For example, some constituent elements maybe omitted from all the constituent elements described in theembodiments. Furthermore, the constituent elements of the differentembodiments may be combined appropriately.

REFERENCE NUMERALS LIST

-   -   SD Sensing device    -   UT Information terminal    -   NW Network    -   SV Server device    -   1, 5 Control unit    -   2 Sensing unit    -   3, 6 BLE communication module    -   4 a Input unit    -   4 b Display unit    -   7 Mobile wireless communication module    -   8 Input/output device    -   11, 51 Controller    -   12, 52 Program storage    -   13, 53 Data storage    -   14 Sensor OF    -   54, 55 Communication OF    -   16, 56 Input/output OF    -   111 Sensing controller    -   112 BLE communication controller    -   113 Communication arbitration processing unit    -   114 Sensing data transmission processing unit    -   131, 531 Sensing data storage    -   132 Arbitration information storage    -   511 Platform (OS)    -   512 First data transfer processing unit (application A)    -   513 Second data transfer processing unit (application B)    -   514 Sensing data transfer processing unit

1. A wireless communication system comprising: a first device configuredto generate transmission target data; and, a second device including aplurality of applications, each of the plurality of applicationsconfigured to perform data transfer processing, the second deviceconfigured to perform transfer processing of the transmission targetdata with the first device under control of the plurality ofapplications, wherein the second device includes: a request transmissionprocessing unit configured to generate and transmit a communicationright acquisition request including unique identification information ofeach of the plurality of applications when the corresponding one of theplurality of applications makes a request to the first device forcommunication, the first device includes: a communication arbitrationprocessing unit configured to determine, when a plurality of thecommunication right acquisition requests are received from the seconddevice, permission or rejection of communication for each of theplurality of applications that are request sources based on the uniqueidentification information included in the corresponding one of theplurality of the communication right acquisition requests and anarbitration condition set in advance; and, a response processing unitconfigured to generate a response including information indicating adetermination result of the permission or rejection and the uniqueidentification information corresponding to the information and returnthe response to the second device; and, the second device includes: adetermination processing unit configured to determine success or failureof acquisition of a communication right for each of the plurality ofapplications based on the information indicating the determinationresult of the permission or rejection and the unique identificationinformation corresponding to the information that are included in theresponse returned from the first device; and, a data transfer processingunit configured to execute the transfer processing of the transmissiontarget data by an application having succeeded in acquiring thecommunication right among the plurality of applications based on adetermination result of the success or failure.
 2. A wirelesscommunication device used as a first device in a wireless communicationsystem, the wireless communication system including the first device anda second device, the first device configured to generate transmissiontarget data, the second device including a plurality of applications,each of the plurality of applications configured to perform datatransfer processing, the second device configured to perform transferprocessing of the transmission target data with the first device undercontrol of the plurality of applications, the wireless communicationdevice comprising: a communication arbitration processing unitconfigured to determine, when a plurality of communication rightacquisition requests are received from the second device, permission orrejection of communication for each of the plurality of applicationsthat are request sources based on unique identification information ofeach of the plurality of applications included in the corresponding oneof the plurality of communication right acquisition requests and anarbitration condition set in advance; and, a response processing unitconfigured to generate a response including information indicating adetermination result of the permission or rejection and the uniqueidentification information corresponding to the information and returnthe response to the second device.
 3. The wireless communication deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the communication arbitration processingunit defines a first-come-first-served basis as the arbitrationcondition, and when the plurality of communication right acquisitionrequests are received from the second device, the communicationarbitration processing unit permits communication for an applicationcorresponding to a communication right acquisition request that isreceived earliest.
 4. The wireless communication device according toclaim 2, wherein the communication arbitration processing unit definespriorities for the plurality of applications as the arbitrationcondition, and when the plurality of communication right acquisitionrequests are received from the second device, the communicationarbitration processing unit permits communication for an applicationhaving a highest one of the priorities.
 5. The wireless communicationdevice according to claim 2, further comprising: a display processingunit configured to generate display information of the determinationresult of the permission or rejection based on the informationindicating the determination result of the permission or rejection andcause a display unit included in the wireless communication device todisplay the display information.
 6. A wireless communication device usedas a second device in a wireless communication system, the wirelesscommunication system including a first device and the second device, thefirst device configured to generate transmission target data, the seconddevice including a plurality of applications, each of the plurality ofapplications configured to perform data transfer processing, the seconddevice configured to perform transfer processing of the transmissiontarget data with the first device under control of the plurality ofapplications, the first device including a function configured todetermine, when a plurality of communication right acquisition requestsare received from the second device, permission or rejection ofcommunication for each of the plurality of applications that are requestsources based on unique identification information of each of theplurality of applications included in the corresponding one of theplurality of communication right acquisition requests and an arbitrationcondition set in advance, generate a response including informationindicating a determination result of the permission or rejection and theunique identification information corresponding to the information, andreturn the response to the second device, the wireless communicationdevice comprising: a success/failure determination processing unitconfigured to determine success or failure of acquisition of acommunication right for each of the plurality of applications based onthe information indicating the determination result of the permission orrejection and the unique identification information corresponding to theinformation that are included in the response returned from the firstdevice in response to transmission of the corresponding one of theplurality of communication right acquisition requests; and, a datatransfer processing unit configured to execute the transfer processingof the transmission target data by an application having succeeded inacquiring the communication right among the plurality of applicationsbased on a determination result of the success or failure.
 7. Thewireless communication device according to claim 6, further comprising:a display processing unit configured to generate display information fordisplaying the determination result of the success or failure based oninformation indicating the determination result of the success orfailure and cause a display unit included in the wireless communicationdevice to display the display information.
 8. A wireless communicationmethod executed by a wireless communication system, the wirelesscommunication system including a first device and a second device, thefirst device configured to generate transmission target data, the seconddevice including a plurality of applications, each of the plurality ofapplications configured to perform data transfer processing, the seconddevice configured to perform transfer processing of the transmissiontarget data with the first device under control of the plurality ofapplications, the wireless communication method comprising: by thesecond device, generating and transmitting a communication rightacquisition request including unique identification information of eachof the plurality of applications when the corresponding one of theplurality of applications makes a request to the first device forcommunication; by the first device, determining, when a plurality of thecommunication right acquisition requests are received from the seconddevice, permission or rejection of communication for each of theplurality of applications that are request sources based on the uniqueidentification information included in the corresponding one of theplurality of the communication right acquisition requests and anarbitration condition set in advance; by the first device, generating aresponse including information indicating a determination result of thepermission or rejection and the unique identification informationcorresponding to the information and returning the response to thesecond device; by the second device, determining success or failure ofacquisition of a communication right for each of the plurality ofapplications based on the information indicating the determinationresult of the permission or rejection and the unique identificationinformation corresponding to the information that are included in theresponse returned from the first device; and, by the second device,executing the transfer processing of the transmission target data by anapplication having succeeded in acquiring the communication right amongthe plurality of applications based on a determination result of thesuccess or failure.
 9. A recording medium for causing a processorincluded in the wireless communication device according to claim 2 toexecute processing of each of the processing units included in thewireless communication device.
 10. A recording medium for causing aprocessor included in the wireless communication device according toclaim 6 to execute processing of each of the processing units includedin the wireless communication device.
 11. The wireless communicationdevice according to claim 3, further comprising: a display processingunit configured to generate display information of the determinationresult of the permission or rejection based on the informationindicating the determination result of the permission or rejection andcause a display unit included in the wireless communication device todisplay the display information.
 12. The wireless communication deviceaccording to claim 4, further comprising: a display processing unitconfigured to generate display information of the determination resultof the permission or rejection based on the information indicating thedetermination result of the permission or rejection and cause a displayunit included in the wireless communication device to display thedisplay information.
 13. A recording medium for causing a processorincluded in the wireless communication device according to claim 3 toexecute processing of each of the processing units included in thewireless communication device.
 14. A recording medium for causing aprocessor included in the wireless communication device according toclaim 4 to execute processing of each of the processing units includedin the wireless communication device.
 15. A recording medium for causinga processor included in the wireless communication device according toclaim 5 to execute processing of each of the processing units includedin the wireless communication device.
 16. A recording medium for causinga processor included in the wireless communication device according toclaim 7 to execute processing of each of the processing units includedin the wireless communication device.